Canon launches EOS 60Da DSLR for astrophotography

Canon has launched the EOS 60Da, a variant of its 60D DSLR tuned for astrophotography. The camera features a re-worked infra-red filter leaving the camera more sensitive to a specific emission frequency (656nm) of hydrogen, key to capturing images of features such as nebulae (gas clouds) in space. The 18MP camera continues where 2005's 8MP EOS 20Da left off. It will be available from a limited number of authorized dealers at a price of around $1499.00/£1174.99.

Press Release:

NEW CANON EOS 60Da DSLR CAMERA FOR ASTRONOMY ENTHUSIASTS CAPTURES THE TRUE COLORS OF THE COSMOS

LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., April 3, 2012 – Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, today introduced the EOS 60Da Digital SLR Camera, a long-awaited successor to the EOS 20Da that is optimized for astrophotography. This DSLR caters to astronomers and hobbyists who enjoy capturing the beauty of the night sky by offering a modified infrared filter and a low-noise sensor with heightened hydrogen-alpha sensitivity. These modifications allow the camera to capture magnificent photographs of “red hydrogen emission” nebulae and other cosmic phenomena.

“The EOS 60Da is a testament to the constant desire to meet the needs of every customer, including those in specialized fields,” said Yuichi Ishizuka, executive vice president and general manager, Imaging Technologies & Communications Group, Canon U.S.A., “This new camera enables an accurate depiction of a part of our solar system which is hard to achieve with conventional cameras but should be enjoyed and celebrated.”

The Canon EOS 60Da camera packs a powerful 18-megapixel CMOS sensor (APS-C) that produces sharp and high-contrast images of astronomical objects, a major enhancement over the EOS 20Da model’s 8.2-megapixel sensor. The improved infrared-blocking filter is a modification suited specifically toward astronomy enthusiasts to achieve a hydrogen-alpha light sensitivity that is approximately three times higher than that of a normal Canon DSLR camera. This produces a 20-percent higher transmittance of Hydrogen Alpha line, or Hα wavelength, allowing astronomers to capture crisp, clear images of reddish, diffuse nebulae.

Enhanced Features

Crisp images of the stars and planets can be viewed on the EOS 60Da’s improved 3.0-inch Clear View LCD screen with 1,040,000 dots for detailed focusing. The flip-out Vari-angle screen allows photographers to adjust the screen for easy viewing without straining even while the camera is mounted to a telescope via a third-party T-ring adapter. Optimized for stargazing with friends or in an educational setting, astronomy enthusiasts can connect the camera to a TV with the provided AVC-DC400ST Stereo AV Video Cable and display the night sky on a TV monitor using the camera’s Live View mode. Moreover, the EOS 60Da’s Live View mode is equipped with a Silent Shooting feature that eliminates shutter-induced vibration for maximum camera stability when the camera is mounted to a telescope or super-telephoto EF lens.

Enhanced noise reduction on the EOS 60Da sensor offers photographers the ability to experiment with the wide array of ISO settings and increased ISO speeds up to 6400 expandable to 12800. Other features include an intelligent nine-point autofocus system, full manual controls, and RAW, JPEG, and RAW+JPEG image recording capabilities.

Accessories

The EOS 60Da helps capture the wonders of the night sky with its use of Canon’s award-winning EF and EF-S lenses along with other EOS accessories. Additionally, the EOS 60Da is packaged with Canon’s RA-E3 Remote Controller Adapter, providing the ability to connect a Canon Timer Remote Control such as the TC-80N3 (optional accessory). The TC-80N3 is ideal for controlling time exposures longer than 30 seconds as well as capturing a series of consecutive time exposures that can be composited during post-processing for improved image quality. This is especially useful when the camera body is connected to a telescope[i] or an EF super telephoto lens.

Canon has also included an AC adapter kit with the EOS 60Da, allowing the camera to be powered through an AC wall outlet or a battery-powered inverter, ideal for long exposure image or video capture at home or in the field.

Availability

As a specialized product, the EOS 60Da is only available to order from select authorized dealers. The estimated retail price is $1,499.00 and it is expected to be available this month.

I've pushed my 20Da (predecessor to this one) into service a few times and didn't really notice anything particularly 'better'. The IR enhancement is in the range of Hydrogen Alpha rather than full spectrum, so I'd be surprised if it helped much for that application. One hint - regardless of the camera you're using, use an external flash (I use the 580EX) and you'll dramatically reduce the number of false hits. Sort of like red-eye, having the flash close to the plane of the lens generates a lot of straight-back reflection. On a side-by-side test with clean optics, on-camera flash showed dozens of 'images', off-camera showed none. I have captured a few anomalies using off-plane flash, but usually only one or two per image. FWIW

I shoot landscapes where 2/3 of the scene is night-sky.Will I notice any difference in the night-skies when using my ultra-wide angle lens on this camera?Or is this an exclusive feature for tele-photos right into the sky?

Yes, it can still be used as an everyday camera. In order to get true color reproduction, it is generally recommended that you use an external IR Filter. Without it, some IR-bright items will look a little off.

"This produces a 20-percent higher transmittance of Hydrogen Alpha line, or Hα wavelength, allowing astronomers to capture crisp, clear images of reddish, diffuse nebula" only makes sense if one assumes that "20-percent" is a misprint for "200-percent". Do others agree with me, or am I missing something?

When the 20Da came out, a comparo was done between it and aftermarket modded 20Ds. Seemed the aftermarket models performed slightly better for astrophotography, and were more affordable. Look forward to seeing how this new 60Da performs in comparison to Hutech.com and Gary Honis versions.

Fast shooting speed almost 6 fps is very good, and thought 3 fps was good. (I also like the 2 settings for shooting speed, normal and high speed)Built in Wireless flash control. I also bought the 430EX II, and 3 button pushes later I had the speed light firing while it sat off camera behind the subject, and that is very coolGreat Canon Software (I use a Mac, and I love the USB interface software, you can completely control the camera from your computerCustom Shooting mode - Exact what it sounds like, its nice touchThe flip out rotating screen is very sharp, probably one of the best I've seen on a DSLR. I don't shoot much live view though.It uses SD, only because I had plenty of SD cards from my last two devices.

One of the best features of this camera compared to other DSLRs is the biggest source of heat can be moved away from the CMOS chip. LCD screens on DSLRs that are fixed behind the CMOS, after a very short period of time, heats the CMOS and induces much noise. This means the 60Da, if the LCD is opened, will not induce this heat and will provide longer exposures that are cleaner than DSLRs with LCDs having a fixed position. This camera can also be used for normal day time photos and you do not have to have a filter on every lens. You do not have to add a filter to any lens. Add one filter to your camera body for day time use to put the white balance back to normal. I have several Canon DSLRs modified and with this filter the daytime images are great: More info: http://www.astronomik.com/en/home. I think Canon may have a very nice camera with this one. I have not heard yet, but it would be great to also have 2x2 binning!

I totally agree with you.Regarding the Astronomik filter it is an easy way to use EF lenses for daytime photography, unfortunately an EF-S can't be used and since this is an EF-S body, well, the use of the filter would be very limited.

Yes the EF-S lens are a problem. I like the EF lens better as being designed for the larger CMOS the edge sharpness I think is a little better. Glad you pointed that out. All my lenses are EF so I failed to remember that. Thanks.

I looked on the site but it's not clear what the filter would be for "normal" photography. They talk about night sky filters. I shoot landscape photography but would like to add good night sky stuff and need a camera that can do both. What are your thoughts?

I don't know much about astrophotography, but the samples on Canon's Japanese website do show a definite increase in red sensitivity. It would seem that the sensor bandpass filter change is the main improvement in the camera body. The rest seems to be bundled "essentials" allowing long exposure with mirror lock-up, easy astro-stacking protocol (I forget what this is called in astrophotography - immunofluorescence microscopy uses the same averaging technique to cut noise). Have fun folks! The closest that I have come to astrophotography is the ever-popular super-tele moon shot.

In astrophotograpy the process of stacking photos together is called photo stacking......... my aren't we an imaginative bunch :-)

If you don't have a tracking mount you can shoot video of an object as it travels across your camera screen, take the video into your video editing software and do a pan of the video... after that you have a stationary object.... then feed that stabilized video into a photo stacker ( you may need an intermediate step to extract individual frames, depending on the software being used) It works suprisingly well and shows that you don't need thousands of dollars of specialized gear to get out there and have fun. I got hooked on astrophotography with a fixed tripod, star trails, and normal lenses.

P.S., I am no expert on astrophotography but I am really having a great time learning....

Canon has a few sample shots floating around. Note exposure times of six minutes...... To all those thinking of trying astrophotography may I suggest that this is a field where the tripod is more important than the camera, and a quality motorized equatorial mount may be a far better investment than a new camera.

Sorry, stars as streaks is not something this camera can fix. You need a motorized mount (either for camera or telescope) that can track the stars as the earth turns. Blurry may be due to autofocus issues - switching any camera to manual focus is a good start.

Yes, the idea is that you can also use it for other kinds of photography. The only issue is the camera's extra sensitivity to infrared light, but there are ways to deal with that if it proves to be a problem.

you can also use the "LiveView" option to focus - it displays the current image the sensor is seeing on the back LCD - find one of the brighter stars, switch to manual focus, zoom in 5x and then 10x and find your focus on that bright object (sirius, jupiter, etc) - then move your camera where you want to take your image

yes, focusing is an issue in astrophotography

another tip... keep your exposures to about 8-10 seconds - anything past 13secs will result in elongated stars

I Imagine one could get a filter for the lens that stops IR, thus making it more usable for regular photography, though not sure if it is a 100% fix. I'm no expert on astrophotography, but imagine you do two things:1. Manual focus set to infinity (no more blurries)2. Shorter exposure frames, but take several. Then you can image-stack them, though I'm not sure if there is software that would also automatically adjust the pictures to take into account the movement. (In theory it should, but the more pictures you take, the smaller the area covered by ALL pictures - similar to image stabilization where you throw out some pixels around the edges).

PLEASE READ AND HELP ME OUT :) !!! Does anyone know if this camera will be capable of shooting within our little blue planet to a reasonable to good outcome of quality, or whether it will be strictly limited to interstellar or astrophotography.I've literally been sitting in the centre of a metaphorical seesaw with the 600d on one end and the d5100 on the other, i definitely want to give astrophotography ago and this being one of the main reasons for me purchasing a DSL, but i dont want to be limited to just that specific field, as this being my first D SLR i will be using it for general use as well as astrophotography ( although more wide angle as apposed to deep space and planetary) ... hence the question above will the new 60da be a good all around camera or will it be limited to its field of respectable profession?

Jack, I have a 350Da (post retail modified) DSLR and I use a Custom White Balance for almost all every day shooting. It took a while to find the right combination but most people recommend using a 14% gray card to set the CWB. Personally, I found the MacBeth card to be most beneficial in telling the camera what 'white' is.

(this may sound odd) but a 30s image of the night sky from my dark location became my go-to CWB setting since it seemed to not only set a good white point but it also restored the blackpoint as well.

Modded DSLRs tend to image in the red spectrum even during daylight shooting. It can be frustrating dealing with post editing to restore color balance, but not impossible with research and experimentation.

I could see it being ultimately helpful to new (and veteran) users of IR/UV modded systems if Canon would include a couple of built-in pre-set CWB options for the every day shooter.

It will be very easy to blow the red channel when shooting indoors in incandescent or "warm" CFL light. Very difficult to use for weddings, candles will play hob with it. You can get around this by using BG-34 filters on all your lenses, but that's a pain.

The BG-34 will also help with skin tones and "blotchy" skin. No matter what you do with the CWB, you can't address that with software, it's a "hardware problem".

Telescope optics are 2 inch and 1.25 inch. You can get adapters to go from EOS ( or any other mount) to T mount, and an adapter from T mount to either 2 or 1.25 inch optics.

Most telescopes use 1.25 inch optics so a 1.25 mount will fit everything. Almost all telescopes have the capacity to handle 2 inch, and if you can, that's the way to go as it blocks less light than 1.25 and is a far sturdier mount.

Many telescopes come with 1.25 but you can purchase options to allow 2 inch, for example the celestron Schmidt-cassigrains are sold with 1.25, but $25 gets you a 2 inch mount.

I am not a pro photographer, and every time there is a new SLR, i am only interest in low lights capability, dual memory cards, large screen with million dots and face detection for focusing.

and every time i visit this website i expect new product, but after 5 years knowing about this website,... i think those top manufactures making cameras is like buying a car... same car with lotsa variants. 4 cyl, v6 or v8 engine wif same body.

To your interest, at DP review you can in one location follow the improvements in each area - low light sensitivity, features such as dual memory cards, etc. They are the same in the same way as you can now get 200hp out of a 2.0 litre car, when 10 years ago the horse power was far less. The interesting thing is to see the technology advance. You purchase at a point where you need the technology AND the technology meets your needs. I think of it as a great window on the advances (and limitation) of current technology.

And.....here we go again DPReview. You basically copy and pasted the advertising from Canon's press release onto your "Review" site. Only problem is, when you "review" something, isn't the point of the site to take another, more objective view of a product? You should call yourselves, DPAdvertisers.

Problem? Well, besides apparently being the only person here with an iq over 100, how about the fact that hydrogen-alpha light is NOT the true color of the cosmos. You know those galaxy and nebulae that you see on science shows in awe striking color? Yeah. Thats false color. That's not TRUE color, I don't care how subjective it is. The human eye does not see colors that way. This article's main title should read "CANON ANNOUNCES MODIFIED 60D (60DA) WITH STRONGER INFRARED SENSOR THAT PRODUCES FALSE COLOR IN ORDER TO MORE EASILY PHOTOGRAPH THE COSMOS".

So basically you just pasted NEWS and FALSE ADVERTISING onto your "review" site, that is just chock full of adverts really.

Wiki: H-alpha (Hα) is a specific red visible spectral line created by hydrogen with a wavelength of 656.28 nm, which occurs when a hydrogen electron falls from its third to second lowest energy level. It is difficult for humans to see H-alpha at night, but due to the abundance of hydrogen in space, H-alpha is often the brightest wavelength of visible light in stellar astronomy.

Continued: H-alpha has a wavelength of 656.281 nm,[1] is visible in the red part of the electromagnetic spectrum, and is the easiest way for astronomers to trace the ionized hydrogen content of gas clouds.

You've proclaimed yourself the most intelligent person here and are carrying on about the true colour of the cosmos, false advertising, and news in capital letters. It is my hope some site and/or some camera, be it modified for astronomy or not, allows you to find the inner peace you seem to have lost due to Canon's and DPR's misstatements.

The Canon Press Release is posted in the News section. Press releases are news; that's why they are called press releases. The DP reveiw section has reviews that are very thorough. This camera has not yet been "reviewed". When or if it gets reviewed, it will be a full-fledged review like their other reviews. I think there is a fair chance, however, that they will not review this particular model because I don't think they are qualified "astrophotograpers". I am an astrophotographer, and H-alpha is definitely not false color. It is a deep red that is visible. Unfortunately, most digital cameras have IR blocking filters that cut off too early and severly attenuate the visible Ha wavelength. True, many astrophotos do use false color to map INVISIBLE wavelegths into other colors that are visible, or we couldn't see the image. These have both scientific value and aesthetic value. But most astrophotos are true-color and keep H-alpha as red and sun-like stars as white.

One would think that someone with your superior intelligence would know what a press release is, and also understand that something posted in the news section of this site isn't intended to be a review.

"The human eye does not see colors that way."No, but isn't that the whole point? Would you question your doctor's diagnosis because your eyes don't see what the X-ray machine sees? That's not a perfect analogy, I know, but I hope you get my point.

Anyone aware of the breadth of the electromagnetic spectrum knows how limited our human "vision" truly is. Are infra-red images less "true" just because your eyes can't see them? Are radio-images less true, or X-ray?

All these images are true because they convey the accurate information about what is really out there. We have just "shifted" this information somewhat so our limited eyes can see it.

i wish...you would all just get over yourselves a bit. Those that do the business know what they want and what they need. Sure it may not have everything. But it has to be a good start. I applaud Canon for taking the big step and making the thing. Now if they would just answer my email, and make a similar unit for us archaeologists so we can photograph Near Infra-red emissions at sites to reveal water absorption in the ground and surrounding structures. Or perhaps those better in the know can tell me...would this camera suffice for the purpose described above???

No, Canon will never market a camera with enhanced near IR sensitivity. There was a problem years ago with Sony "nite shot" IR cameras coming under fire from parents groups because near IR cameras can occasionally get a glimpse of women's undies.

That's why, when Fuji made such a camera a few years ago, they did not release it through their regular distribution channel, but only through a distributor of forensics equipment for the LEA and fire department markets.

The 60Da actually has a filter that insures that it can do 656nm h-Alpha without picking up near IR.

The archaeology market is just too small to attract Canon for something that politically dangerous. I recommend looking into having a third party do an "IR conversion" for you.

The use of white balance is to distort colors.... The act of aiming the camera is to edit out the rest of the sphere... and don't even get me started on post processing... False colour is not a "bug", it's a feature that many strive for. There is always a strong creative component in photography and astrophotography is no different.

Why does a camera strapped to a telescope, that's being pitched on the benefits of the camera's LCD display for viewing (hard to use an OVF when the mirror's locked up)... why does it need a mirror, OVF, and focal plane shutter (besides dust control)?

It's not sensor size any more. If I was Sony, and I was interested in making a splash in the scientific community, why not in astrophotography, with all its passionate amateurs? Save those budget-strapped folks a small bundle by ditching unnecessary mechanical systems, and it reduces weight-related stress on the telescope to boot. AND, it'll still do fine as a general-purpose camera.

Sure, for someone who owns a pile of Canon glass, and is using that camera for a whole lot more than astrophotography... it's another set of tools on the Swiss Army Knife. But this would have been a really cool way for Canon to introduce its mirrorless camera. It's not like they don't know how to make 'em. They're called pro video cameras.

The Sony Nex5n or 7 would probably be perfect (I'd imagine) as they are basically what you're asking for (no mirror or OVF and a really good live view). But no, they aren't `optimized` for astrophotography.

Personally speaking, regardless of live view capability, I still chose to focus TTL using the mirrored prism assembly of my 350Da. If, when I feel the need, to shoot every day images with it, I still use the same method of TTL focusing.

I can see Live View being helpful for centering and framing objects (as RO3rds does not apply to core AP). But, as my rule goes, I focus until I see diffraction coming through the OVF. Once I know I'm there, I take a few sample images to test for focus. If it's off one way or the other, back to the OVF I go.

Every one keeps telling every one they need mirrorless and I couldn't disagree more. If you like it use it, but it's not acceptable to tell every one it's WHAT THEY NEED. Some of those same people with piles of Canon glass cringe at the idea of mirroless projected image view finders. It makes my eyes hurt. If I'm to save my eyes for fine focus in AP, mirrorless isn't going to be my personal choice ... ever.

True, a flip mirror has limited value in astroimaging. The live-veiw with 7x or 10x zoom-in window is a blessing for focusing. Without that, it would usually take me 30min just to focus. With liveview and 10x, I'm focused in just a couple minutes. Modifying the IR blocking filter to prevent it attenuating at visible deep red of H-alpha is a very significant improvement for astroimaging. A shutter is important because we want to easily take dark-frames without covering the front of the telescope. I usually take 8 to 32 dark frames and average them to remove all the random noise. That becomes my master dark frame, and it has to be redone periodically. Ideally, an astrocamera should also have a peltier cooler behind the sensor to lower the noise during long exposures. This is a huge benefit. And it should have a regulation loop to keep the sensor temp very stable so that the darks are the "right" dark frames. And it should provide 48-bit RAW files and USB remote control.

Canon do have a mirror less camera. Have had for many years. The EOS 1V-RT (film camera) which uses a pelicle mirror and therefore does not need to move at all...It must only be a matter of time before they amalgamate the two technologies (digital and Pelicle mirrors) to drive the frame per second rate into orbit (please accuse the pun everyone) of digital cameras. Perhaps they are already working down this path. I find it difficult to believe, with all Canon's might in specialist imaging products and technologies, that they can't seem to produce a camera body like a Ford or Holden car, and then have various design or technology options when you buy it. Like when you want your Ford with Blue paint, 18" rims, Bull-bar, etc. Surely it can't be that hard to set up the production line, make 350,000 of these, then 600K of those with this in it. etc. They re-invest 8% of their GDP in R&D and have 70% of the world market. Why can't they make more options available to consumers.

First, electronic shutters have not "arrived" yet, and almost all EVIL cameras have focal plane shutters. The one exception is the Nikon J1, which shows the limits of a "shutterless" design:* 1/60 sec x-sync* fairly low 10mp resolutionSecond, this is a very limited market camera, and the cost of removing mirror and prism from the existing 60D is prohibitive, and cuts its usefulness for "regular" photography.

Third, technology flows the other way in Canon: the dying video camera division trying to get new tech from the thriving still camera division.

"But this would have been a really cool way for Canon to introduce its mirrorless camera."

Yeah, but that's a $100M effort. 60Da is not much more than an engineering change order.

Joseph, all good points. FP shutter is just on my list as it's a mechanical system, and the fewer moving parts, in general, the better. The mirror and prism are my real issue, because they're totally unnecessary to the task.

Digital cameras are essentially video cameras, as video has always been electronic photography - the "monitor" can show you exactly what the sensor and processing is doing to the image. We want our familiar still camera user interface, but I have a problem when the guts of the thing make no engineering sense.

Yes, it's Canon's $100M effort, and this wouldn't be the feature set to drive that kind of investment. However, it would be a great way to drive additional interest in a brand-new model that was already in the pipeline.

gbsailing, the only issue with a pelicle-based camera is that it doesn't allow as much light to reach the sensor. Astrophotographers need all the photons their telescopes can gather. Almost any other technology is a better choice.

As a 60D user, when hand-holding the camera with lenses I probably shoot 95 percent "through the lens". Put it on a tripod and it becomes 75 percent "live view". Mount it to the telescope and it's 100 percent "live view". For a multipurpose camera that's the way to go, and despite the tweaks for astrophotography, the 60Da remains a multipurpose camera.

I should also mention an included piece of software "EOS UTILITY" that comes with the 60D and allows you to hook up a laptop to the camera.... If you think "live view" is great on a 3" screen, just wait till you see it on a 14" screen.....

at the $3500 level, you are going to be better suited looking to FLI or QSI to answer your imaging needs, perhaps even SBIG upper end. Not that Canon doesn't have a very viable choice with the 60Da for the job, but if you have that kind of budget to work with, get a dedicated CCD with built-in Thermo Electric Cooling. For me, Since I already have a 50D, and would like to upgrade my 350Da (post retail modified) this would be a perfect option for a person with a smaller budget like myself.

Hi Joseph, interesting response. You may very well be right, but can you point me to where those conclusions were made with the D800? Logic just seems to dictate that a bigger sensor can capture a better picture, or is optics/atmosphere a limitation for Astro photography vs normal photography? I have been thinking about getting into Astro, and for me, it doesn't seem the weight difference between the two would be all that bad. Thanks!

It will work much better than most cameras if you are using an R72 IR pass filter. I use an R72 on my unmodified DSLR. My optical finder is basically black, but live view works and I can still use it handheld outdoors with the image stabilization. The 60Da camera would probably work much better and need shorter exposures. But it still has a modified IR block filter, so it will not be better than an SLR modified in the aftermarket that has no IR blocking at all.

Canon's press release sounds like 60Da works exactly like 20Da, which can't do IR photography. Most cameras have two IR blocking filters, a blue-green absorption filter and a dichroic "hot mirror" filter. 20Da replaced the blue-green one (which absorbs h-Alpha, and equalizes the camera's response to keep the red channel from blowing) with a second hot mirror.

So, 20Da did worse IR , less sensitivity and more ghosting, than a plain-old 20D. Poor results with a "false color" IR filter like Wratten 89b or R72, and pretty much dead to the B&W filters like Wratten 87 or RM90.

There's two reasons for that. One is political (the backlash from parents against IR capable Sonys) and the other scientific (refractor telescopes are not corrected for IR, and it makes color shots softer).

It takes a bit more than a change in IR sensitivity to make a great astro camera and Canon has done their homework.

Astro objects are usually incredibly faint, difficult to focus on, have a potentially large dynamic range and require mating the camera to a telescope instead of a regular lens.

This usually means very long exposure times to slowly gather the ancient photons tricking in from the distant target subject. This means there are a lot of areas where a dSLR can be optimized for this kind of photography. Minimizing mirror vibrations, mirror-lockup or delay features, low heat generation, multiple noise reduction features and functions, high ISO abilities, specialized focusing tools (no autofocus capabilities here!), external wired shutter control, intervalometer capabilities, swivel screen, extended PC control capabilities, Live View to external monitor, potentially-optimized RAW modes and more.

To serious astrophotographers, this camera announcement is very exciting!

Actually if you do the modification yourself by just removing inner IR absorption glass (Color correction Filter) while preserving the Dust reduction filter, you will have at least 4~5 fold gain in sensitivity at H-Alpha. The ICF in 20Da has only 80% transmittance instead of 99% for an dedicated astrophotographical modification.

If you do what you suggest, and your telescope is not well corrected for IR, you'll get a soft red channel. Hot mirrors serve a purpose in astrophotography.

Oddly enough, it's typically the folks with the most expensive scopes who have the most trouble. The Takahashi refractors are not known for good IR correction, while any old Dobby is going to do just fine.

I applaud Canon for coming out with such a camera. Yes it's a product for a small group of people, but that's exactly why it's great to see that Canon makes it. They are not going to make a lot of money on those, but it creates a level of trust in a brand.

"“The EOS 60Da is a testament to the constant desire to meet the needs of every customer, including those in specialized fields,” said Yuichi Ishizuka, executive vice president and general manager, Imaging Technologies & Communications Group, Canon U.S.A."

Really, Mr. Ishizuka? Please point out to me Canon's offerings that have user removable IR filters to enable the sizable constituency of photography enthusiasts and artisans to take infrared photos.

Indeed, it would seem Canon's "desire to meet the needs of every customer, including those in specialized fields" isn't being fully realized.

"Please point out to me Canon's offerings that have user removable IR filters to enable the sizable constituency of photography enthusiasts and artisans to take infrared photos."

There won't ever be such a camera form Nikon, Canon, or Sony. Major camera companies remember the "Sony lesson". Sony used to have a camcorder feature called "nite shot" that slid the IR blocker out of the optic path. Some adventurous people discovered that, combined with a common Wratten 89b or 87 filter, you had a decent IR camera, and did typical IR art.

Some other folks discovered that, occasionally, this also let you see a woman's undies through certain clothing, and the legend of the "x-ray camera" was born. Next thing you know, angry mothers are burning or smashing piles of Sony equipment and demanding that the government "protect the children from pedophile photographers".

That's why Fuji only marketed their S5-UVIR through LEA equipment distributors, as a "forensics" camera.

1) Despite the history, Sigma makes (some) IR capable cameras, and2) If Canon will never make such a camera, their executive vice president and general manager of Imaging Technologies & Communications Group, Canon U.S.A, needs to stop making erroneous claims to the contrary.

Xon, you're dealing with execs who have to run the press releases by marketing and legal and then have them translated.

Now, I see from your posting history that you're a Sigma or Foveon fan, so you really, really don't want to get in any sort of shouting match about some other company's "needs to stop making erroneous claims", because a lot of us have got the stones to shatter your glass house.

Press releases are passed through the marketing people and they get edited away from what the technical people are saying. Then they pass through translators and a statement changes from "nebulas AND the solar system" in Japanese, to "nebulas IN the solar system" in english. Are we really anal enough to nitpick over things like that? We should laugh at those things, not fight over them.... I still smile when I think of Sony and the "exploding view" of thier camera, when it is obvious that they meant "exploded view".....

A press release means that something new is coming. We have seen a few samples and they look interesting but remember that those are PROCESSED images that have been vetted by the marketing people. Most people realize this and can't wait to see an independent review.

@Joeseph... agreed! Translating technical documents is a minefield... Translaters are language experts and usually have very little technical knowledge. I see this all the time at work. Another favourite translation involved the definition of equipment failure and somehow got translated to "ejection of parts".. I hope that radio never fails.....

If the 60Da is anything like the 20Da, it already has two hot mirrors, and doesn't need another.

"Regular" cameras have two IR blocking filters, a hot mirror and a blue-green "Schott BG-34" style absorption filter. Canon replaced the blue-green filter in the 20D with a second hot mirror to make the 20Da. This boosts the h-Alpha sensitivity 3-4 times, but cuts IR even more than a "stock" camera, for sharper images with expensive refractor scopes (and to avoid the Sony "x-ray camera" debacle).

The filter you need for regular color photography is a "BG-34" type, like a B+W 489.

Oh, and sorry, kimvette, but it sounds like 60Da isn't going to work for "general" IR photography.

"hydrogen-alpha light sensitivity that is approximately three times higher than that of a normal Canon DSLR camera. This produces a 20-percent higher transmittance ..."

Confusing at first, but it seems to mean that the quantum efficiency at 656 nm is 10% in standard Canon cameras, and 30% in this camera.That would make it more sensitive than 5D and 5D II, or a modified 40D, see these graphs: http://www.astrosurf.com/buil/50d/test.htm

I think you nailed it. I don't know the transmission of Canon's particular blue-green balancing filter, but the Schott BG-34 that is the grandfather of them all is just 8% transmission at 656nm. Pulling that got us a 3 stop boost for h-Alpha.

It would be interesting to see where they cut the spectrum. It used to be at about 700 nm. For my own purposes (not quite astro, nor IR) I'd be very happy if it stretches to 760 nm, but I'm not holding my breath.

I'm posting this reply here near the top, but it is such a relief to see ALL your precise and astutely informative responses.

Also, to be honest, it has saved me huge keyboard response time as you have allowed me to sit back and enjoy the banter, and be confident that you are out there, ready, willing, and more than able to most knowledgeably clarify, inform, and keep things straight !

It's easy to think so, but actually Canon had an EOS 20Da which was specifically designed for astro. So why not a replacement? I think it is a good idea if they can sell a so special model. Good luck to Canon.

Well done Canon (from a micro 4/3 user) for releasing a camera aimed at a small niche market! It is two cameras in one, a normal DSLR, and a camera suitable for astroimaging. However, I'm confused as to how large the increase in red sensitivity will actually be. The press release states that "hydrogen-alpha light sensitivity that is approximately three times higher than that of a normal Canon DSLR camera. This produces a 20-percent higher transmittance of Hydrogen Alpha line". The "silent shooting" feature is also interesting; I wonder how it is implemented? The fully articulated LCD is great for use with telescopes (as is the case with the Panasonic GH2).Can the 60D produce video using just the small central portion of the sensor? That would make it a great camera for imaging the planets too.Most astrophotographers who use DSLRs favour Canon, and many astroimaging software packages have features for PC control of Canon cameras, so this will generate a lot of interest.

One of the 60D video modes is "CROP 640", whic h is a 640 x 400 video cropped from the center portion of the sensor, sort of like an 8 or 9 times digital zoom. I have been playing with it to shoot jupiter and Saturn and usinf photo-stacking to get far better quality results than any individual frame.

I like how you are thinking, but you need an accurate digital compass and of course tilt data in 3d. Got me thinking about other options, it is a fun subject, but i think it would end up being too expensive to build for the number that would sell.

Maybe firmware that assumes a stable tripod, it takes a few pictures over 2-3 minutes, calculates the star movement, then correct based on that data. That could be done. But the camera would have to remain stationary, and the focal length would have to be fixed.

@Don GlennFrom your reply it seems that you're not aware that Pentax already makes a GPS attachment for its K-5 camera that does exactly what K_Photo_Teach indicated - it detects the camera's location and orientation and uses the sensor-shift capabilities of its IS system to compensate for star movement. If this were combined with a astrophoto-optimized sensor it would be a terrific combination.

Seems like I don't know much about astronomy as I thought I did, I never knew there were nebula in our solar system to be celebrated, as Cannon is quoted as saying in this article. I've only seen Hydrogen Alpha line photographs of nebula outside of our solar system.

“This new camera enables an accurate depiction of a part of our solar system which is hard to achieve with conventional cameras but should be enjoyed and celebrated.”

It is so funny that someone think this camera is able to capture the image in the outer space like the imaging systems in Mount Graham International Observatories or Roque de los Muchachos Observatories...Guys, a $1,400 camera is not able to do that. To learn the outer space, you need to spend billion of dollars.

rgibbons: You are right about not knowing that much. Your quote says nothing about nebulae - they're actually talking about the sun. Being a big ball of mostly hydrogen, it emits plenty of h-alpha. The sun is hard to capture with conventional equipment, as the quote says.

Edmond Leung: I don't think anyone thinks this camera will be able to capture anything but a blur without a lens. If we are allowed to mount it on the other hand we can use any telescope with an adapter. Even with amateur scopes and stacking you can see hundreds of milions of light years out.

This camera can easily produce stunning images of extragalactic objects like M31 and M33. Many other deep sky objects are even easier. You should do some searches, billions are certainly *not* needed for the deep sky.

Edmond Leung: So what specifically do you think this camera can't do when mounted on a telescope? Angular resolution isn't generally about the sensor, but the telescope, so this camera isn't the limiting factor there. Noise, sensitivity and artifacting are concerns, but they can be alleviated by stacking.

More importantly, what exactly do you think should be captured? What's the limit for making this good enough? This camera is good for at least millions of light years. People do hours of exposure for a single image with these cameras.

Basically, if this is expensive and ineffective, then what's the cheap and efficient option?

Iskender,The problem of this camera is you don’t know the range of its sensitivity in the whole electromagnetic wave spectrum.We all know the galaxy involves extremely wide range of electromagnetic waves, and that’s the reason why do we need different types of telescopes for different kinds of observations.A single general purpose sensor (like this camera) is not able to achieve in obtaining a specific wave length for space observation purpose.Remember, the range of electromagnetic wave spectrum for space observation is so wide… from radio wave to gamma ray. That’s the reason why do you need to invest billion of dollars in space observation. It is not as simple as such a camera can do it.

Edmund, you clearly have no idea what you're talking about. The spectral response of the 60Da, like the 20Da, is known. The important part is the extended sensitivity to the Hydrogen Alpha part of the spectrum...which is where a lot of the light from emission nebula is emitted. You don't need billions of dollars for this. With a small 8" or 12" scope, and a 60Da, you can easily get deeper than 20th magnitude. Please stop posting on this...you're making a complete fool of yourself by trying to sound like an authority on the topic....when you obviously don't understand the first thing about astrophotography.